Tag Archives: Fair

5 confirmed sick from Salmonella at Wyoming fair

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The Wyoming Department of Health has confirmed a Salmonella outbreak caused by a pig or pigs at the Johnson County Fair.

After a number of Johnson County Fair participants fell ill with stomach cramps and diarrhea, the Department of Health requested stool samples from five people and was able to confirm that all five were suffering from the same type of salmonella.

According to the department’s surveillance epidemiologist Tiffany Greenlee, when two or more people get the same illness from contact with the same animal or animal environment, the event is called a zoonotic outbreak. Greenlee said the pathology reports indicate that the bacteria was transferred from animal to person via pig feces.

“Salmonella lives in animal intestines and is passed through excrement,” Greenlee said. “At fair, people are around their animals extensively – washing and feeding and grooming, and it’s pretty easy to get animal poop on your hands. We believe people got it from pig poop.”

8 sick with E. coli from Colorado fair

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At least eight people are sick with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli after spending time at the Mesa County Fair, which ran from July 25-29 in Grand Junction.

The Post Independent reports Mesa County Public Health officials have been working with representatives from the fair and those who became sick to find the source of the illness.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli is common in cattle, sheep and goats. It can be contracted through direct contact with these animals or contact with things in close proximity to the animals that may have been cross contaminated.

Mesa County Public Health officials have also been in close communication with child-care providers and health-care providers to determine the magnitude of the outbreak, and to prevent further spread of the illness.

People can become sick between two and 10 days after being infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

Keeping animal event goers safe takes vigilance

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Two weeks ago 20-month old Colton James-Brian Guay tragically died from an E. coli O111 illness he picked up from a Maine fair petting zoo. Another child who visited the same event, Myles Herschaft, is still recovering from HUS.

Reading about these illnesses and thinking about my kids creates a pit in my stomach. The seriousness of the tragedy and how something like this might happen shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who works with food – farmers, processors, food handlers (commercial or domestic) – or the folks who run petting zoos and animal events.ekka_petting_zoo(3)

These tragedies happen often, but it’s not enough to just understand why; the science of pathogen transfer in animal contact events is out there. We’ve published on behaviors and best practices. Petting zoo operators should be watching this case closely and evaluating whether their current strategies would have avoided the outbreak. Changes might mean adjusting a process, increased training, testing and better communication of risks to patrons.

According to Time Warner Cable News, the NC State Fair organizers are focused on controlling zoonotic diseases at animal events.

“For many people, the fair is the only opportunity they may have to come see a cow or a pig or a mule, and so we want to make sure they get that experience. But we want everybody to understand that things like washing your hands and keeping your distance are great little steps that you can take and keep everybody healthy,” said N.C. State Fair spokesman Brian Long.

An E. coli outbreak at the 2011 State Fair caused 25 people to get sick and a year later, officials added barriers between livestock and fairgoers.

“Just to create more separation between humans and animals, you know animals are capable of transmitting bacteria to humans, and vice-versa. We want to keep the animals healthy. We want to keep the people healthy,” said Long.

Keeping folks and food separate from animals is a good strategy. Handwashing matters, but so does cleaning/sanitation of rails, floors and hand-contact surfaces.

At the root of a good food safety culture is recognition by everyone that it’s really important that things go right all the time. The stakes are too high if they don’t: kids end up in hospital or worse.

13 sick with E. coli O157 linked to traveling petting zoo in Minnesota

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Today is a state holiday in Queensland (that’s in Australia) as 60,000 or so will flock to the Ekka, the equivalent of a state fair.

ekka.petting.zoo_1-300x225We’re not going.

I got enough pictures the first two years, and wisely didn’t go last year when at least 50 were sickened with E. coli O157 linked to the animal displays.

Not a word about that outbreak from health types, fair types, or anyone, except locals who say, beware the Ekka winds, and wash hands.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH, that’s in the U.S.) has a much better history of identifying and following up on outbreaks, and reports today it has identified at least 13 people who have developed E. coli O157:H7 infections as part of an outbreak associated with Zerebko Zoo Tran traveling petting zoo. All of these cases have infections with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria that have the same DNA fingerprint. Two of these are secondary cases resulting from being exposed to one of the primary cases associated with the petting zoo.

The 13 cases range in age from 2 to 68 years, 10 (77 percent) are female, and they are residents of multiple counties. Seven (54 percent) cases have been hospitalized, including three children. Two of the cases developed a serious complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which affects kidney function. Currently, one case is hospitalized with HUS.

The petting zoo exhibited at the events listed below between July 4 and July 27, and there have been cases associated with each one:

Nashwauk 4th of July Festival (7/3-7/5): 1 case

Polk County Fair (7/9-7/13): 1 case

Rice County Fair (7/15-7/20): 7 cases (including the 2 secondary cases)

Olmsted County Fair (7/21-7/27): 3 cases

MDH is currently following up with one case regarding their potential animal exposures prior to their illness. Additional cases associated with attending the Olmsted County Fair could still be identified, as that was the most recent event where Zerebko Zoo Tran exhibited.

royal.petting.zooEnvironmental and animal fecal samples collected from Zerebko Zoo Tran yielded the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7. The owner has been cooperating in the investigation and voluntarily withheld his animals from the last two county fairs at which he was scheduled to exhibit in August.

E. coli O157:H7 is commonly found in ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep. Outbreaks associated with these animals are documented virtually every year in Minnesota. Therefore, people who contact ruminants at any venue, public or private, are at risk for infection with E. coli O157:H7 as well as a variety of other germs. People typically become ill by getting bacteria on their hands after touching the animals or contaminated surfaces, and then swallowing the germs while eating, drinking or during other hand-to-mouth activities. Contamination can be present on the fur or in the saliva of animals, in the soil where these animals are kept, or on surfaces such as fence railings of animal pens.

“These illnesses are a stark reminder that E. coli O157:H7 can be present in even the cleanest of animal operations,” said MDH State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Joni Scheftel. Risk associated with animal contact can be reduced through the following measures:

Visitors to animal exhibits should be made aware that even healthy, well-tended animals can have germs that can make people seriously ill.

Food, drinks, and items that promote hand-to-mouth contact (for example, pacifiers) should not be brought into animal areas.

Hands should be washed with soap and water immediately after visiting the animals. Hand sanitizers are not a substitute for soap and running water but may afford some protection until soap and water are available. They do not work well against some germs and when hands are visibly soiled.

Children under 5 years, seniors, pregnant women, and people with a chronic health condition or a weak immune system are prone to serious complications from E. coli infections and should take extra care around animals. 

Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions

Zoonoses and Public Health

G. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman  and D. Powell

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zph.12117/abstract?deniedAccess

Educational events encouraging human–animal interaction include the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. It is estimated that 14% of all disease in the US caused by Campylobacter spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157, non-O157 STECs, Listeria monocytogenes, nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica and Yersinia enterocolitica were attributable to animal contact. This article reviews best practices for organizing events where human–animal interactions are encouraged, with the objective of lowering the risk of zoonotic disease transmission.

A table of petting zoo outbreaks is available at https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Petting-Zoo-Outbreaks-Table-4-8-14.xlsx.

Food safety sorta sucks at outdoor and mobile vendors in UK

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Research from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has revealed that food, water, chopping boards, cleaning cloths and security wristbands sampled from mobile and outdoor food vendors were contaminated with a range of bacteria including E.coli. This bacteria, which originates from human or Ludlow-Food-Festival-005animal feces indicates either poor hygiene, undercooking or cross-contamination in the kitchen.

The report ‘A follow-up study of hygiene practices in catering premises at large scale events in the United Kingdom’ is now published on the HPA website.

Over a seven-month period in 2010, 1,662 samples were collected from 153 events by Local Authority sampling officers and tested by the HPA for a range of bacteria including Enterobacteriacae, E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

The events where samples were taken included 50 concerts or music festivals, 20 sports events, 39 carnivals, fetes and fairs and 44 ‘other’ events of a type not stated.

Eight per cent of food samples (53/659) were noted as being of an unsatisfactory quality with a further one per cent (seven samples) containing potentially hazardous levels of bacteria including, among others, the presence of Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens. Food poisoning caused by this bacteria most often occurs when food, usually meat, is cooked and then kept warm for several hours before serving.

Of the water samples tested, results revealed that 27 per cent (56/209) contained unacceptable levels of coliform bacteria which can be found in the environment in soil, water and on plants and may also be a sign of faecal Food_fair,_Dane_John,_Canterbury_-_geograph.org.uk_-_983622contamination. E.coli and/or enterococci bacteria (of faecal origin) were found in 16 samples (eight per cent).

Environmental swabs were taken from chopping boards, food containers, serving counters, utensils, work surfaces and other areas. The study shows that chopping boards had the most unsatisfactory levels of contamination with 60 per cent (84/141) not meeting the required standard. Overall, of 585 swabs from environmental testing 188 (32 per cent) were not of the required standard.

Bacterial levels twenty times what is considered acceptable were found on 56 per cent (97/156) of the cleaning cloths tested. Bacterial contamination is measured in colony forming units with 97 cloths showing the presence of 10,000 colony forming units (cfu) of Enterobacteriacae where the acceptable level is 500 or less. Some cloths also tested positive for E.coli and species of Listeria.

Some events now require vendors to wear a security wristband for the duration of the event as proof of their authorisation to trade. As these are worn permanently it was considered that there may be some risk of cross contamination. Of those tested one fifth (6/33) of wristbands worn by catering staff were contaminated with Enterobacteriacae, E.coli which are all common bacteria found in the human gut and/or Staphylococcus which lives on the skin.

Dr Caroline Willis, a specialist microbiologist at the HPA’s Food, Water and Environment laboratory in Porton Down and one of the authors of the report, said: “Gastrointestinal illnesses are some of the most common problems encountered by people attending festivals and large-scale outdoor events. Various studies have looked at the microbiological standards of food and environments in such locations and although this study showed some improvement in standards of cleanliness there is clearly a lot of room for improvement.

“There are various reasons why hygiene is lower at such events including the volume of customers, use of temporary staff, working in cramped conditions, lack of storage space and difficulties with on-site cleaning. These all combine to lead to greater cross contamination risks which can be increased if levels of personal hygiene are not good.

The complete report is available at http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317138362820.

Toddler dead, 106 sick; disease hunters track Cleveland County E. coli outbreak

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As the number of sick with E. coli O157 linked to Cleveland County Fair rose to 106, North Carolina Health News details how the investigation started. Excerpts below:

When David Sweat received a phone call late one Monday afternoon that a Gaston County child was hospitalized with an E. coli infection, he knew he’d miss dinner that night, and for many nights to come.

It was Oct. 8. Sweat, an epidemiologist with the Communicable Disease Branch of the state Division of Public Health, knew a county fair had just wrapped up in the Gaston County vicinity. Sweat also knew that only a small percentage of people exposed to E. coli end up with kidney failure like the child in the hospital.

“We knew immediately this was likely to be a bigger outbreak,” Sweat said.

Sweat stayed late that night, making phone calls to learn more of what was happening and to consult with doctors and lab technicians where the child was hospitalized.

The next morning, two more calls came in. Sweat’s colleagues dropped what they were doing and started looking for more cases. They found four that day, all hospitalized in Charlotte.

By the end of the day Wednesday, Oct 10, the folks in the Communicable Disease Branch had ruled out other possibilities: The source was the Cleveland County Fair.

One of the epidemiologists, Zack Moore, sent out a blast communication to doctors, clinics and hospitals in surrounding counties – including neighboring South Carolina counties – alerting them to look for patients with symptoms characteristic of E. coli infection and who had some connection to the fair.

Two people were dispatched to the fairgrounds, where the exhibits and animals had been packed up days earlier. They collected swabs to confirm the relationship between the E. coli in stool samples and the bacteria on the ground.

“We were crawling around, collecting dirt and poop with disposable spoons,” said Carl Williams, a public-health veterinarian who collected more than 40 samples into sterile cups that came back to the state lab. There technicians compared bacteria from the soil samples with that from patients.

The bacteria persists. After the state fair E. coli outbreak in 2004, Foust’s team found the bacteria in the soil five months later. Aedin’s Law, passed in the wake of that outbreak, insures that the soil under animal exhibits where an E. coli outbreak takes place remains unused for six months.

Pigs look healthy but test positive for flu at fairs; transmission seen between pigs and humans

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This is part of the reason people – and fair organizers – have to be far more careful than they ever thought.

More than 80 percent of pigs that tested positive for influenza A virus at Ohio county fairs between 2009 and 2011 showed no signs of illness, according to a new study.

Ohio State University researchers tested 20 pigs each at 53 fair events over those three summers and found at least one flu-positive pig at 12 fairs – almost a quarter of fairs tested.

The influenza strains identified in pigs in this study include H1N2 and H3N2 viruses – strains that have been circulating in pigs since 1998. In 2011, all of the H3N2 and H1N2 isolates found in pigs at the fairs contained a gene from the 2009 pandemic strain of H1N1, which is similar to the H3N2v strain causing human illness this year.

Though this finding alone is no cause for panic, it does show how quickly influenza viruses can change, said Andrew Bowman, lead author of the study and a Ph.D. candidate in veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State.

In a second study led by Bowman, researchers compared the genomic sequences of influenza A viruses recovered in July 2012 from pigs and people. The analysis, showing a greater than 99 percent genetic similarity among the viruses, confirms that pigs and humans were infected with the same virus, indicating interspecies transmission.

As of Sept. 25 this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed 107 human cases of H3N2v influenza in Ohio since July 2012, with the majority linked to exposure to pigs at agricultural fairs. While most of the human illness caused by H3N2v has been mild, one person, who had a compromised immune system, has died.

Both studies appear online and are scheduled for later print publication. The three-year surveillance at Ohio fairs is published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the analysis of human and pig viruses appears in Emerging Microbes & Infections.

Hope and handwashing is never enough; 1 dead, 37 sickened in E. coli outbreak tied to visitors to NC county fair

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With one child dead and 37 now sick from E. coli O157 linked to a North Carolina county fair, the folks who run the NC state fair hope people will wash their hands and mostly avoid touching animals.

This is the best organizers can come up with after two previous North Carolina State Fair outbreaks – in 2004 and 2011 – sickened over 200 people.

In 2004, 187 people became ill with E. coli O157 after visiting the North Carolina State fair in Raleigh. One of those visitors was a two-year-old who was hospitalized for 36 days with hemolytic uremic syndrome. That led to the passage of Aedin’s Law, which directs the Commissioner of Agriculture to adopt rules establishing sanitation requirements for petting zoos and animal exhibitions.

In 2011, 25 attendees at the same fair acquired E. coli O157 by walking through the Kelley Building where a livestock competition was held. The epidemiology didn’t point to animal contact as a risk factor.

Hope and handwashing is never enough.

At least six of the 37 people sickened in the Cleveland County Fair outbreak in Shelby remained hospitalized Sunday.

Since last year’s outbreak, State Fair organizers have invested more than $200,000 in preventive measures.

Hand-washing stations have better lighting and larger signs. Animal exhibits and food vendors are placed farther apart. Most noticeably, new routes and barriers in animal buildings limit contact between humans and animals.

Kevin White said his family has not gotten sick in 12 years of visiting the livestock and animal exhibits at the fair.

“That’s probably the main point of our adventure out,” White said.

And that’s a common thread in most risk management failures: nothing went wrong last time, so something probably won’t go wrong this time.

Go hang out at petting zoos or the exhibits at county and state fairs and watch what little kids do; we have. So have others.

As Anderson and Weese found in 2011 at a temporary petting zoo in Guelph using video observation, 58 per cent of visitors performed some form of hand hygiene (either using water, soap and water, or hand sanitizer), and two interventions (improved signage while offering hand sanitizer, and verbal hand hygiene reminders by venue staff) were associated with increased hand hygiene compliance. U.K. health officials currently recommend handwashing stations with soap and water only (no wipes or sanitizers).

And while some studies suggest inadequate handwashing facilities may have contributed to enteric disease outbreaks or washing hands was protective against illness, others suggest relevant infectious agents may be aerosolized and inhaled. Handwashing tool selection may also contribute to the success of hand hygiene as a preventive measure, as some outbreak investigations have reported alcohol-based hand sanitizer was not protective against illness, especially when hands are soiled.

In the fall of 2009, an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at Godstone Petting Farm in the U.K resulted in 93 illnesses – primarily little kids.

The investigation into the Godstone outbreak identified evidence of environmental contamination outside the main barn, indicating acquisition of illness through both direct animal or fecal contact, and indirect environmental contact (e.g. contacting railings or soiled footwear).

Aerosolization of potential pathogens is also possible, as suggested in an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at a county fair in Oregon, in which 60 people fell ill.

As part of the response to the Godstone outbreak, U.K. health types recommended handwashing stations with soap and water only (no wipes or sanitizers, because they don’t work that well under certain conditions).

Ihekweazu et al. subsequently concluded that in the Godstone outbreak, “handwashing conferred no demonstrable protective effect. …

“Moreover, from the findings of many previous published studies, it must be assumed that all petting or open farms are potentially high-risk environments for the acquisition of VTEC O157 infection.”

A table of petting zoo outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/petting-zoos-outbreaks.

Erdozain G, Kukanich K, Chapman B, Powell D. 2012. Observation of public health risk behaviours, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011. Zoonoses Public Health. 2012 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01531.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract below:

Observation of public health risk behaviors, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011Outbreaks of human illness have been linked to visiting settings with animal contact throughout developed countries. This paper details an observational study of hand hygiene tool availability and recommendations; frequency of risky behavior; and, handwashing attempts by visitors in Kansas (9) and Missouri (4), U.S., petting zoos. Handwashing signs and hand hygiene stations were available at the exit of animal-contact areas in 10/13 and 8/13 petting zoos respectively. Risky behaviors were observed being performed at all petting zoos by at least one visitor. Frequently observed behaviors were: children (10/13 petting zoos) and adults (9/13 petting zoos) touching hands to face within animal-contact areas; animals licking children’s and adults’ hands (7/13 and 4/13 petting zoos, respectively); and children and adults drinking within animal-contact areas (5/13 petting zoos each). Of 574 visitors observed for hand hygiene when exiting animal-contact areas, 37% (n=214) of individuals attempted some type of hand hygiene, with male adults, female adults, and children attempting at similar rates (32%, 40%, and 37% respectively). Visitors were 4.8x more likely to wash their hands when a staff member was present within or at the exit to the animal-contact area (136/231, 59%) than when no staff member was present (78/343, 23%; p<0.001, OR=4.863, 95% C.I.=3.380-6.998). Visitors at zoos with a fence as a partial barrier to human-animal contact were 2.3x more likely to wash their hands (188/460, 40.9%) than visitors allowed to enter the animals’ yard for contact (26/114, 22.8%; p<0.001, OR= 2.339, 95% CI= 1.454-3.763). Inconsistencies existed in tool availability, signage, and supervision of animal-contact. Risk communication was poor, with few petting zoos outlining risks associated with animal-contact, or providing recommendations for precautions to be taken to reduce these risks.

North Carolina fair linked to toddler E. coli death

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Not only is this tragic, it’s infuriating.

Gage Lefevers, a toddler who had visited the Cleveland County Fair died from E. coli Friday afternoon.

Gage was one of 16 people in four counties who may have been sickened with the bacteria.

“I can’t imagine what that family is going through,” said Beth McNair, who has a son being treated for E. coli. Jordan McNair is said to be slowly improving.

Family members of other E. coli victims told WBTV that they are all gathered in support at the hospital tonight.

One of the Gaston County residents with E. coli is a 12-year-old boy who has been hospitalized since Monday.

A table of petting zoo outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/petting-zoos-outbreaks.

Erdozain G, Kukanich K, Chapman B, Powell D. 2012. Observation of public health risk behaviours, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011. Zoonoses Public Health. 2012 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01531.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Outbreaks of human illness have been linked to visiting settings with animal contact throughout developed countries. This paper details an observational study of hand hygiene tool availability and recommendations; frequency of risky behavior; and, handwashing attempts by visitors in Kansas (9) and Missouri (4), U.S., petting zoos. Handwashing signs and hand hygiene stations were available at the exit of animal-contact areas in 10/13 and 8/13 petting zoos respectively. Risky behaviors were observed being performed at all petting zoos by at least one visitor. Frequently observed behaviors were: children (10/13 petting zoos) and adults (9/13 petting zoos) touching hands to face within animal-contact areas; animals licking children’s and adults’ hands (7/13 and 4/13 petting zoos, respectively); and children and adults drinking within animal-contact areas (5/13 petting zoos each). Of 574 visitors observed for hand hygiene when exiting animal-contact areas, 37% (n=214) of individuals attempted some type of hand hygiene, with male adults, female adults, and children attempting at similar rates (32%, 40%, and 37% respectively). Visitors were 4.8x more likely to wash their hands when a staff member was present within or at the exit to the animal-contact area (136/231, 59%) than when no staff member was present (78/343, 23%; p<0.001, OR=4.863, 95% C.I.=3.380-6.998). Visitors at zoos with a fence as a partial barrier to human-animal contact were 2.3x more likely to wash their hands (188/460, 40.9%) than visitors allowed to enter the animals’ yard for contact (26/114, 22.8%; p<0.001, OR= 2.339, 95% CI= 1.454-3.763). Inconsistencies existed in tool availability, signage, and supervision of animal-contact. Risk communication was poor, with few petting zoos outlining risks associated with animal-contact, or providing recommendations for precautions to be taken to reduce these risks.

13 now sick with E. coli from North Carolina county fair

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People need to be a lot more careful than they ever thought when it involves animals and people.

Unfortunately, that point was hammered home this week as 13 people are now sick from an E. coli outbreak related to the Cleveland County Fair in North Carolina.

As of noon on Thursday, 8 children and 5 adults are known to have been sickened in the outbreak.  Eight of the illnesses are in Cleveland County residents, four are in Gaston County residents, and one case is from Lincoln County. 

One of the Gaston County residents with E. Coli is a 12-year-old boy who has been hospitalized since Monday. 

Thursday night, Jordan McNair was still in the intensive care unit at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.  Doctors began dialysis Wednesday.

“It was rough,” said Jordan’s older sister Hayley Totherow. “Just hoping every morning that I would hear good news. And when I didn’t hear that, it just scared me.”

A table of petting zoo outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/petting-zoos-outbreaks.

Erdozain G, Kukanich K, Chapman B, Powell D. 2012. Observation of public health risk behaviours, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011. Zoonoses Public Health. 2012 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01531.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Outbreaks of human illness have been linked to visiting settings with animal contact throughout developed countries. This paper details an observational study of hand hygiene tool availability and recommendations; frequency of risky behavior; and, handwashing attempts by visitors in Kansas (9) and Missouri (4), U.S., petting zoos. Handwashing signs and hand hygiene stations were available at the exit of animal-contact areas in 10/13 and 8/13 petting zoos respectively. Risky behaviors were observed being performed at all petting zoos by at least one visitor. Frequently observed behaviors were: children (10/13 petting zoos) and adults (9/13 petting zoos) touching hands to face within animal-contact areas; animals licking children’s and adults’ hands (7/13 and 4/13 petting zoos, respectively); and children and adults drinking within animal-contact areas (5/13 petting zoos each). Of 574 visitors observed for hand hygiene when exiting animal-contact areas, 37% (n=214) of individuals attempted some type of hand hygiene, with male adults, female adults, and children attempting at similar rates (32%, 40%, and 37% respectively). Visitors were 4.8x more likely to wash their hands when a staff member was present within or at the exit to the animal-contact area (136/231, 59%) than when no staff member was present (78/343, 23%; p<0.001, OR=4.863, 95% C.I.=3.380-6.998). Visitors at zoos with a fence as a partial barrier to human-animal contact were 2.3x more likely to wash their hands (188/460, 40.9%) than visitors allowed to enter the animals’ yard for contact (26/114, 22.8%; p<0.001, OR= 2.339, 95% CI= 1.454-3.763). Inconsistencies existed in tool availability, signage, and supervision of animal-contact. Risk communication was poor, with few petting zoos outlining risks associated with animal-contact, or providing recommendations for precautions to be taken to reduce these risks.